


Of wilted Laurel wreaths

by Lunaverse



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Except he's not a rapsit or a piece of shit, I can't stress this enough i HATE Theseus, Inaccurate Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Loosely based on the minotaur myth, M/M, No bestiality because i am a coward, Oikawa is theseus, Only One Bed, Ovid-typical god bashing, Ushijima is the minotaur, brief Oikawa/Ariadne but it's unrequited
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaverse/pseuds/Lunaverse
Summary: And here he is. Underground, lost, with only a small red thread tying him back to the world outside. He holds a monster in his arms and knows, with a terrifying crushing certainty, that he can't bear to leave without him.Or: Oikawa Tooru, prince of Athens and son of Poseidon, takes it upon himself to enter the labyrinth and slay the monster that has been devouring his people. Unfortunately for him, Aphrodite likes causing trouble.
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Of wilted Laurel wreaths

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peaflower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaflower/gifts).



> Alright, before you read this, I'm gonna need you to think about everything you know about Theseus and this myth in particular, and just.. throw it out of the window. In this story we are picking and choosing what aspects of greek mythology and tradition we follow and which we don't in order to create a better tender gay atmosphere, got it? Good!
> 
> This work is a gift to Cee, aka peaflower on ao3. Because they turned 22 today! Happy birthday, cee! I hope you like it. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone curious, here's how I arrived at the names for ocs in this story. (Who are really just figures from the myth who I didn't replace with characters from haikyuu but rewrote and renamed them so they're kinda mine at this point.) 
> 
> Sakiyo is derived from the kanji 最(sai, most) and 聖(kiyo, holy) since she is based on Ariadne, whose name means "most holy" in greek" "Mamoru" is based on Aegeus, Theseus's mortal father, whose name means "protector". Mamoru is derived from the kanji 守 (Mamoru, protector) For the Cretan king I didn't even have to do anything since "ushi" already means cow or bull, making it perfect for this story since "Minos" (the king of Crete in the original myth) also meant bull. I decided not to change the god's names since i am not THAT much of a masochist. Also, I found it slightly more believable that the deities had very different names than the mortals, compared to half of the people being Japanese and the other half greek.

The colossal door slammed to a close, and the sound echoed against a thousand walls. It Surrounded Tooru from all sides, reverberating off every stair, path, corner, and dead-end passage of the labyrinth until it resembled the roar of a monster. 

The light faded, hiding him away from the watchful eyes of the sun. All that was left was the red flickering of the torch in his hand. 

Tooru looked back, to where he'd entered the labyrinth a second ago. The door was gone, had become one with the rest of the stone. If it were not for the red yarn coming from the invisible divide in the wall, there would not have been a single way to detect where the entrance had been. 

He reached out and touched it, his last tether to the outside. The other end tied securely to the belt around his waist, unfurling as he walked away.

Outside, a young girl did the same, but she lingered even as he left. Pressed herself to the wall, thinking wistfully about the man on the other side. 

Sakiyo, princess of Crete, had betrayed her father and her land for a foreigner. She couldn't help it. Tooru was a charming man. Scars on his arms and chest, and tales of fights that made your heart skip a beat. A face sculpted so masterfully that servants turned their heads when they walked past, and a voice so rich and captivating that they lingered just to listen to him talk. Brown eyes that promised adventure and a smile so infectious it involuntarily brought a grin to her own face. 

She'd fallen for him at first sight and promised to do anything she could to help him survive. 

But she had to return home. For her father would wake soon, and he couldn't know she was here. That she had given the foreign prince his sword and an option to escape, given to her by the old inventor in the king's imprisonment.

She slipped back through the bushes, the guards she's bribed pretending not to see her. When she got home, she quietly changed her clothes, washed herself, and instructed her servants to prepare an offering to Aphrodite, so she could pray for her love to be safe. 

She didn't know yet that he would betray her. 

Because Aphrodite's heart was fickle, and she had her own plans with the hero descending into the labyrinth.

For over a full day, he wandered through the darkness. He had been warned by Sakiyo what the labyrinth could do to the human mind, but nothing could have prepared him for this. 

Staircases that lead into nothing, walls sprouting from ceilings, pathways that seemed as though they were meant to be walked upside down. He met dead end after dead end, had turned into new corners only to be faced with the sight of his own string across the ground.

And somewhere inside of this endless maze lived a beast, a giant bull, deadly and hungry for human blood. 

One had to be a fool to step inside of this wretched place willingly.

But a just prince cannot stand by and watch his people suffer. It was the weight Tooru chose to bear with the golden crown on his head when he'd accepted king Mamoru of Athens as his father alongside Poseidon. And with the Cretan king demanding monthly sacrifices among the ranks of his citizens to keep the monster sated, he had no other choice. 

The bull was his father's symbol. It would make a due sacrifice for him.

A noise came from behind him. He turned around, lighting-fast, drawing his sword in one fluid motion. 

The noise became louder. Rhythmic, heavy, echoing against the countless walls.

Footsteps.

“Who’s there! He called out. “Show yourself!” 

And round the southern corner came a tall figure.

A man. Or at least, something that appeared to Tooru as a man, wearing a simple tunic and sandals and nothing else. He was tall, well-built, with dark brown hair and olive green eyes. The flickering light of the torch in Tooru's hand emphasized the sculpted line of his jaw. 

He was handsome, sculpted under the watchful eye of the goddess of love herself, no doubt. 

Tooru tore his eyes away. This was not what he was here for. 

"Who are you?" He asked, slowly walking closer. 

Instead of answering, the man reached out to Tooru's sword. "Where did you get this?" He asked, "you are not supposed to have weapons inside of here."

"Answer my question! Who are you?"

"I am the guardian of the labyrinth." The man answered. He saw no sense in lying.

The hero didn't understand. "Are you another sacrifice? How did you manage to survive?"

But that was when, in the dim light of his torch, he saw. 

Thin black lines, creeping down his arms like vines, or blood vessels. They started at his shoulder, so thick and numerous that they nearly colored the entirety of his skin in darkness, slowly thinning out as they branched out and faded, until only a single line remained, ending at the cuff of his wrist. 

He didn’t need to wait for the man- no, not a man at all- to answer. Nor need he look at the pained expression passing over that seemingly human face. He knew. This creature was not one of his people. It was the monster that killed them. 

The minotaur bowed his head."I am not an offering." He said, sorrowful. "I am the one that delivers them." 

He hadn't noticed the string hooked to Tooru's belt. Though his eyes were sharp, he had no reason to regard this stranger with caution. This happened every month, it was nothing new to him. 

But Tooru was no ordinary man. He was a demigod, with the blood of the king of seas coursing through his veins, the power of his father's tyrant shining in his sword. 

Before the minotaur could react he was already charging forward, sword aimed directly at its chest.

But, despite not seeing the attack coming, it evaded him, with impossible speed it jumped out of his reach and backed into the wall. Tooru steeled himself for a counter-attack, but it never came. 

Instead, the minotaur hunched forward, groaning in pain, as the vines on its arms began to pulse, and then grow. They wrapped the creature in darkness, swallowing it in a web of black. 

And then it started to _transform_ . The pulsating black mass began to expand and grow, the vines rearranged themselves into a new shape. Through the darkness came two bright white lights- no, _eyes_. And within seconds the human veneer of the beast had disappeared altogether. Replaced by a two-meter tall roaring bull. 

Tooru barely had time to jump out of the way before the beast’s hooves trampled him. It trampled past him and straight into the wall. 

Any mortal being should have broken its skull. But the beast stumbled back, shook its massive head, and then those sinister glowing eyes found Tooru again. 

It was fast, unnaturally so. Tooru had fought a bull before, the beast that brought destruction in Marathon, trampling everything it came across after the great hero Heracles had set it free. 

Tooru had captured it with ease and sacrificed it to Athena. He'd assumed fighting this monster would be a similar task. 

But no, this thing was something else. No ordinary animal had that strength. 

Tooru ran, swift and light-footed as the wind. The beast followed him, roaring and heaving.

He sprinted through the endless tunnels and up and downstairs, tried to use as many turns as he could. The beast was far faster than him, but its size would slow it down in such a cramped space, forced to halt and turn every few seconds. It wouldn't lose Tooru, though. Because he was still carrying the torch, marking him as a target in the otherwise undisturbed darkness of the labyrinth. 

But it was either that or running through the maze blind. And the second was a death sentence. 

Though it was only a matter of time before they would encounter a dead end. And that would be the end of him regardless of the fire. 

Though he was the son of the god of the sea, Tooru had always held a deep respect and affinity for Athena. Like the city he would one day rule, named after her. Her wisdom and strategy had helped him out many times prior and would do so again. 

If he were to slay this beast, he would have to use his wits. 

So in the next turn, he skidded to a stop, threw his torch aside so the monster wouldn't be able to see his shadow, turned around, and tightened his grip on his sword. 

As soon as the beast rounded the corner, hooves slipping on the smooth stone, he charged forward and jumped, aiming at the beast's head. 

It noticed and reacted immediately, turning away in a desperate attempt to evade the blade. But it was too late 

With a sickening sound, Tooru's sword buried itself into the beast's left horn, splitting it open at the base. 

The minotaur roared, an ear-splitting awful scream of anguish. It wildly shook its head, hurling Tooru along with him. Its other horn caught on the thread still on Tooru's side and snapped it in half. 

With all of his power, he pried at his sword, but it only drove it further into the bone. He needed to get it loose before this monster hurled him into the wall and smashed his spine. But he couldn't let go, without a weapon he was nothing more than dinner for the beast.

He pushed again, even as the beast raised his head and his grip

A nauseating snap, another howl of pain, and Tooru was thrown onto the stone floor. 

Pain shot up in his leg, but he ignored it and immediately shot back up. 

The beast was cowering on the other side, still growling in pain. It'd recover soon enough, but that was not his most urgent problem. 

The string was torn and laid useless on the ground, the other end still dangling from Tooru's side. His only escape route. If he ran again, he might never find his way back.

And his sword was on the other end of the hall.

Behind the monster. 

The only thing close to him was the broken horn, massive and curled, with a tip as sharp as a knife. 

It was his only chance. 

But as he ran towards the horn, prepared to use it on the monster it came from like how Heracles once used the great lion's teeth to kill it, something caught his attention

The monster itself. 

It was still cowering, slowly walking back through the hall, past Tooru's sword, making no attempts to attack any further.

The screaming continued. On and on and on, _rising_ in pitch, becoming less and less distorted and monstrous. 

And so did its form. 

Gone was the giant bull, in its place now stood something else. Its figure resembled a human, but its skin was still pitch black.

And then it wasn't. Slowly, starting at his feet and fingertips, the black veins pulsated and slowly retreated up his arms. It screamed, as if the unholy magic was tearing it apart from the inside. 

And its voice sounded so human, so full of anguish. 

Tooru closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of the beast trashing in unimaginable pain any longer. He had always been uncharacteristically soft at heart for a hero. 

But that did not mean he would forget what he was here for. The monster no longer posed a threat, for at least a few moments. 

He hurried towards the thread, ignoring the blinding pain in his leg, and tied the ends back together. 

When he looked back, ready to make a run for either of his weapons, the sight made him still.

The bull was gone. The man looked like he did when they'd met. And completely unscathed except for the small stream of blood running down his temple.

Tooru’s eyes wandered downwards and froze when he realized the transformation had left the creature without clothes. 

Where his sight had previously been blocked by the tunic he had been wearing, the black vines crawled even further, became even thicker, sprawled all the way to the center of his chest. His heart. It was completely swallowed by the darkness, a black crawling mass, pulsating at the rate of a heartbeat. Like a parasite had crawled into his ribcage and attached itself to his heart.

Furthermore, Tooru had been all too right about his initial thoughts of the goddess of beauty favoring him.

Aphrodite had taken her sweet time with him, indeed. When he was born she had meticulously crafted every feature he would grow into one day, shaping him into a truly stellar young man. 

She'd had big plans for him. And then they were all thrown in disarray by her own family. How bothersome. 

Luckily, she had been given a new opportunity. 

Nothing quite as sweet for a goddess as a story of star-crossed lovers. 

Not yet, though. Eros had his bow drawn, the arrow nocked, and his target in sight. But he waited. 

Tooru averted his eyes. 

He took another step forward, and the monster raised his arms in surrender.

"Please," he said, hoarse. "I won't attack you anymore. Just don't-" his voice cracked. "Don't threaten me first. It won't do either of us any good." 

"You vile low-life monster! Do you think I'll fall for such a lie after you nearly ended my life just seconds earlier?" 

The minotaur slowly stood up. "I didn't want to, it takes over when I'm in danger. You attacked me first. If you do not threaten me, I will not lay a finger on you. You have my word."

"Your word means nothing to me, beast." Tooru sneered. 

"I do not wish to harm you, truly." 

Tooru stretched his hand out. "Prove it, then. Hand me my sword." He demanded.

To his shock, the monster did as told. He picked it up and held it out for Tooru to grab. 

"Follow me," he said, and turned around without waiting for an answer. 

Following a giant monster deep into a labyrinth was unwise. But What other option did he have? 

He stumbled after him, trying to put as little weight on his injured leg as possible. 

He had to find a way to kill this thing. Soon. 

He banished any distracting and confusing memories from his mind. Of blood tracks left behind him in the stone, of eyes the colour of moss at the ocean floor, or a hauntingly human voice 

The minotaur led him through the labyrinth, eyes closed and fingers grazing along the walls. 

He was navigating the whole thing by touch alone, Tooru realized.

Ahead of him, the minotaur sighed quietly as he navigated the labyrinth, leading them to its center. 

A brash, loud, and hostile guest this time. It was a relief, truly. It was easier not to care when the throbbing pain of his missing horn overpowered his head. This one would be easy to kill, if not physically, then mentally.

Somewhere far away, the three fate sisters laughed at him.

After half an hour, a light appeared around the corner. 

The center of the maze. 

It was a living room. 

A fireplace flickering with orange, a simple bed shoved against the wall, and a small table with a stool. Small things were scattered around the room. Bracelets, clothes, other small trinkets. 

He could hear water trickling around the corner, too.

It looked lived in, human even. 

The minotaur walked ahead of Tooru, into the center room, and looked back at him.

"I see you have food on you." He said, eyeing Tooru's satchel. 

"I didn't know how long I'd be down here," Tooru answered, wary. He wasn't here to make polite conversation with a monster. 

But he knew he could not attack the minotaur outright. He was strong, and not unintelligent. He had to wait and find an opening, a loophole. 

"Don't expect me to share."

"I don't." The minotaur said. "I can't eat it, after all." 

That piqued Tooru's interest. "You can't?"

"There's only one thing I can eat. I thought you'd know that." 

Oh. Tooru looked down. "Right." 

Humans. 

"There is a stream around the corner if you need water." The beast said

Tooru cleared his throat. If he was to be this monster's guest until he found a way to kill it, so shall it be. 

"Can I wash myself?"

"You don't have to ask. Go wherever you want." 

No. Not yet. He didn't dare leave the monster out of his sight. 

"Good. I'll do that later." 

He had something else to do now. 

He took the red yarn off his belt, and looked for a place to tie it onto. 

There was a protrusion of stone into the wall, like a hook for a man to hang his coat onto. Perfect. 

This, of course, got the attention of his host. 

"What does the rope lead to?"

It was dangerous to tell him. He could destroy it anytime. 

It could be even more dangerous to refuse. There was a chance the monster already knew and was just asking to test Tooru's reaction. Either way, he could destroy the thread at any time. And Tooru had to prevent that. 

"The exit."

The minotaur froze. He looked at the string with wide eyes. An exit, an escape. 

"You should leave, then." He said. "Find your way back outside and go home, wherever that is."

Tooru eyed him with suspicion. "You don't seem eager to come with."

"Are you offering?"

Tooru quickly stepped to the side to block the exit "If you attempt to follow me, I will drive my sword straight through your heart." He threatened 

The minotaur exhaled and closed his eyes. "That's what I thought." He said. "Leave. I won't try to stop you

Tooru slowly lowered his sword, but didn't let his guard down. "And what will happen if I do?" He asked. 

"I assume they will simply bring someone else in soon after." 

Another sacrifice, most likely one of his own people again. A prisoner, or an innocent immigrant or trader. 

"No. I can't let that happen. I came here because the people of Athens are offered up as your food by the king who built this labyrinth. I will not leave until I can be sure that they are safe." 

The minotaur blinked. "You… are here by choice?" 

"I'm here to slay you. I took the place of one of my people." 

"You keep saying that: your people. Who are you?" 

Tooru tilted his chin up and looked down at the minotaur. "I am Oikawa Tooru, son of Oikawa Mamoru, king of great and wise Athens. Any citizen of my city is one of my people, and I will not stand by as they are slaughtered. Which is why I can't leave."

The minotaur regarded him with bewilderment for a moment, before shrugging. 

"Very well. If you don't want to leave, I suggest you no longer try to kill me, it will end badly for both of us." 

"What, are you afraid of me?" Tooru grinned viciously. "If you fear my attack, you should say it outright. Not that begging for your life would help you." 

"No. I would kill you. Though you might manage to hurt me before you do." 

"Do not insult me, beast." Tooru hissed. 

"I am not. I am stating the truth. You have tried to kill me once already and failed, and you are injured now. Please do not let your ego get in the way of your life." 

"My life!?" Tooru hissed "Do not take me to be naive, monster. You've devoured every one of my people who entered this place! And you will do the same to me if I let you." 

The expression on the minotaur's face was like stone "It's true," he said coldly "but I prefer to space out my meals as much as possible." 

That was what did it. If he'd been more hot-blooded Tooru would have drawn his sword and tried to decapitate the beast then and there. But he knew better. 

So instead, red with anger, he charged out of the room to the stream. 

After he left the room, the minotaur sighed, and looked up at the stone ceiling of his prison.

His stomach was empty. The fight had exhausted him. Soon, the hunger would take over. 

He had about 5 days left, maybe. 

The stream in the hall was small, crossing through the underground labyrinth and trickling further into the ground. But it was enough. 

Tooru rid himself of his tunic and stepped into the shallow stream to wash himself. 

When clean, he stretched his legs, lifted his face and arms to the sky, palms upward, and prayed. 

"Clear-eyed Athena, unrivaled in wisdom,

daughter of Zeus and Metis whose craft and wit

excelled among the mighty Titans: Wise in all things you are, goddess; your cunning and guile are well known. Athena, I call upon you for your help. son of your father's brother, leader of Athens, I have lived my life in your honor. Please grant me a clear and wise mind like yours so I can slay the monster that threatens our city." 

It was short, but hopefully it'd be enough. Tooru had always been in Athena's good favor. 

He'd have to visit her temple after he got out to honor her properly. 

Unlike physical gifts the gods bestowed upon heroes in times of war, Athena's blessing was harder to miss, but Tooru knee better than to misattribute it to anyone but her. 

Her answer came in the form of a mortal mind clearing up, of seeing through the mist that had formed in his head. 

An idea. 

He walked back into the room, the minotaur looked up at him and gestures to the simple bed against the wall. 

"The bed is yours." 

Tooru scoffed. "Strange, for a monster to care about the laws of hospitality." 

"I do not."

"Right, since you kill your guests." 

"Are you still planning to kill your host, then?" 

Tooru didn't say anything, he ground his teeth and looked away. The minotaur took that as confirmation and turned around.

"As I said, the bed is yours. I will sleep on the ground." 

"Within my sight," Tooru said quickly. Zeus be damned if he was going to let that monster sneak up on him. 

The minotaur looked surprised for a moment, but his expression went back to neutral swiftly and he nodded. "Very well." 

Tooru did not sleep that night. Every muscle in Tooru’s body was screaming for rest, his mind was tangled in a web of chaos. As soon as his back hit the mattress, the impulse to simply let himself succumb to the sleep and forget for a few godly hours. 

But he did not dare close his eyes for a second, nor did he let go of his weapons. He kept them trained on the minotaur on the ground instead. Peacefully asleep, looking even younger. If he was mortal, he could not be older than Tooru himself. 

Four hours crept by like that. Though Tooru had no way of knowing. Seconds felt like minutes, hours like eternity, 

The transformation was triggered when the monster was in danger, whether he wanted it to or not. 

Or at least, that's what he'd told him. Tooru knew better than to believe a human-eating monster at his word. 

But if that much was true, and that bull would come out as soon as he was in danger. Then the only way to slay the monster was to kill it in its sleep, unaware of his own doom. 

As quietly as he could, he rose from the bed. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as he approached the figure on the floor.

Sleeping calmly like this, the minotaur simply looked like a handsome young man. A boy, in the eyes of most. 

Something inside of Tooru's chest ached. 

No use. He was here for a purpose 

He brought the sword down. 

Before the metal could even graze his skin, the minotaur's eyes opened and he moved quick as lightning. 

The sword still hit him, embedding itself into his chest. But before Tooru could drive it into the monster's heart, the transformation had begun. The mass of black veins threatened to swallow his sword and hand with it, and in horror, he pulled back. 

The plan had failed. His only chance had been when the beast was asleep and he could kill him before he transformed. 

But the transformation was apparently not conscious. Some higher authority held the power. Which was exactly what the monster had told him, and he has refused to believe. 

But he didn't have the time to ponder that fact.

He jumped back just in time to miss the swing of the bull's giant head. He landed on his injured leg and groaned as white-hot pain shot up from his knee.

Backing up, he saw that the bull was missing a horn. Had it not been for that, he'd probably have been impaled 

He had nowhere to run this time. His thread was tired to the wall, if he ran out into the labyrinth he would be lost forever 

And fighting this thing in close quarters was a death wish. He could try to lead it into the fire, which might work. More likely was that he'd get crushed before he even got there or knocked into the fire pit himself. 

But he still had an idea 

One catch: It would only work if the monster had been telling the truth. Let's pray he'd be given a spot in Elysium if he died. 

He threw his sword to the side and raised his hands, palms out

"There, beast! Now you're safe! I won't attack you anymore!" 

And in a miracle, the bull stopped in its tracks. It stumbled back, thrashing wildly, twisting in on itself. And with a blood-curdling scream, it lost its form into a writhing ball of darkness, the same unnatural horror he'd witnessed yesterday, until finally, he shifted back into a young man, heaving on his knees, hand over the shallow wound on his chest. 

He looked up at Tooru. Eyes full of pain and betrayal. 

"Why?" 

Strangely, Tooru felt the urge to apologize. Which was ridiculous, he'd fully intended to kill the beast, so why would he say sorry?

But looking into those all too human eyes, he wasn't so sure anymore. 

It was madness. He'd killed humans. Bandits, murderers, criminals. And this man fell under murderer without a doubt.

And yet. 

"I had to try." He said, sounding more defensive than he wished. 

"There is no way to kill me! Don't you think I've tried?" 

That stopped him in his tracks, he stared wide-eyed at the minotaur. 

He saw no trace of deception in those eyes, only honest, raw pain. His heart burned a

he'd killed. They were all criminals, no doubt, but they had lives nonetheless. It was a soldier's sacrifice, to see when one had to die for others to be safe.

Killing innocents, women and children, and those pure of heart, was a crime the mind had to be distorted into a poor imitation of itself to even comprehend. 

And to imagine having to do that again and again. Against your will. 

His heart burned and his throat closed up. He had nothing to say 

The minotaur slowly stood up, hand still pressed to the wound Tooru had given him. "If there was a way for you to kill me, I would tell you." 

And those were the last words he spoke, leaving Tooru alone with his thoughts. 

He scrubbed the blood off his sword in the stream, watching it dissolve from the metal and his skin into the water, and then get carried with it deep into the earth. 

There was nothing to do. Nothing to look at. Time crept by agonizingly slowly. And without the sun to guide him, Tooru had no idea how late it was. 

He could ask the minotaur, who seemed to have developed an internal clock decent enough to at least tell when day and night apart. 

But he couldn't do that. It felt wrong. 

He ate the last of the food he brought, and after washing his own hands from the blood and mortal impurity, he lifted his hands and prayed to his father.

No answer. 

After what must have been hours, the minotaur re-entered, chest bound in blood-tainted fabric. Instead of gliding past Tooru like he was a ghost, he looked at him.

"It's getting late again." He said. "You should sleep." 

He didn't want to, but he had been awake for over two days. He was tired and weak. If he stayed awake, the exhaustion would eventually take gs consciousness from him and he would be helpless. It was of no use to stay awake. 

The fatigue had taken a toll on him. Mere minutes after his head hit the mattress, he was out. But despite his exhaustion, he slept lightly and uneasily, hand curled around the hilt of his sword the entire night.

The morning was spent in silence once again. Tooru didn't eat, his satchel was empty. 

"You have no food left," the minotaur said eventually. "You have to leave." 

"No." 

"You'll die in here."

"Maybe. One of us will, at least." That was a lie. In all these hours alone in his head, he hadn't thought of a single new plan to take him down. 

"Don't kid yourself." The minotaur said, irritated. "Are you going to attempt this madness a third time? Leave, so I won't have to kill you. Please." 

There was a unique desperation in his voice. He'd regretted every life he'd taken. But this one was especially cruel. 

"I am not leaving," Tooru stressed. "Until I figure out how to save my people."

The minotaur held his tongue, but his curled-up fists betrayed his frustration. 

“Ask, then,” He eventually said. “You have questions, I might have answers. Maybe you'' find something I haven't.” 

Tooru did have questions. Too many to count. 

“Do you know the way through the labyrinth?”

This was not the most important one. The one he needed to ask. But the minotaur had seemed undisturbed by the presence of the red yarn Sakiyo had given him. He hadn't jumped to follow it, despite this being his prison.

“Only near here. This structure, as far as I know, was built to keep me in.”

It was. Tooru had known that even before he arrived. A labyrinth so inescapable its own creator struggled to find his way back outside once he was finished. 

"What do you do all day?"

The minotaur raised a single eyebrow at him, almost playfully "What a trivial question."

"There's nothing here! Tooru protested. "You must be awfully bored!"

"I am. But it's for the best." He leaned "I try to conserve my energy as much as possible. There are days where I simply sleep and nothing more." A somber cloud dropped over his face. "It's why they only need to send in one person a month." 

Oh. 

"It takes over every time you're in danger, doesn't it?" 

"Yes. I used to be unable to control it when I was still a child. But I mostly have the upper hand now. Unless I'm in direct danger. Of being killed, or drowning… or starvation."

Old stories made more sense now. Sakiyo had whispered to him that before the labyrinth, when she was only a newborn, the monster ripped through half the king's army, unstoppable for the hundreds of soldiers it devoured.

Faintly, under the pattern of black vines, he could see scars, too. Slashes, stabs, and burn marks. 

"Why don't you want to leave?" 

The minotaur's shoulders sagged. "I don't see the point. I stopped trying to leave years ago. Out there, I would just kill more people." 

The guests tended to be soldiers when he was younger. Prisoners of war, they'd tell him. Some took pity on the child they found wandering through the labyrinth, assumed he was another victim and tried to help him. Until they found out the truth. He tried to lie to one of them once, to keep the fantasy alive for as long as he could as he staved off the hunger. 

The look on that man's face when he died was enough to never try that again. 

Others were bitter and tried to kill him even when their weapons had been taken from them. They scratched and bit and kicked, they took the fire in his temple and tried to burn him alive. 

He preferred those last ones. They were easier to kill. 

Recently though, the guests had changed. They were younger, less strong, not used to fighting. They came in crying and pleading, already knowing what was going to happen. 

This one, with his expensive clothes and masterfully, smithed bronze sword, had been a welcome variation at first. Annoying, rude, and he'd tried to kill him. Twice. 

But he was here willingly. Had a way out but refused to use it simply because it'd cost another person's life. 

He was willing to die here, for the small chance of no one having to die by his hands again 

Inaudible to mortal ears, the twang of a bowstring resounded through the air. 

Tooru looked at him. He'd come to slay a monster that had killed and devoured citizens of his home, not a beautiful young man, willing to stay locked away from the world, with only the company of his future victims for mere days a month, only to spare a few more lives. 

He didn't know what to do anymore. 

The next question was dangerous. He knew he shouldn't. Whatever this buy was born as, he was no longer human. Names were powerful, they crafted a connection. Made you care. 

But deep down he knew it was already too late for that. 

"You've never told me your name, what is it? Do you even have one?"

"I do. Ushijima Wakatoshi."

He shot up. 

"Ushijima?" 

Wakatoshi fronwed at him. "Yes. Why?" 

"That is the king's name!" 

"I know. Others have reacted the same as you." Wakatoshi shrugged, noncommittal. "I don't know what it means." 

But Tooru did. The pieces were starting to fall into place. 

The Cretan king's eldest son. Dead before the war between their cities had even started. Tooru had been too young to remember. The prince was already dead when he was still living with his mother in Troezen. He'd never known the child's name. Or his face. 

And yet, without a doubt, he knew that he was hitting right in front of him. 

"You were born human," He said. "No, you were born a prince." 

"Perhaps," Wakatoshi answered. "I do not know. I've been here for so long, any memory of before has faded. And even if that man is my father, he is also the one who did this to me. Of all things, that is the one I know to be true. I am here to pay for his mistakes." 

Tooru's heart froze. 

He'd been so stupid, charging head-first into battle thinking this was an ordinary monster he could slay and be done with. 

The bull was his father's symbol. 

It was an old story. Sons fighting their fathers' wars. Children paying for their parents' sins.

The snow-white bull Tooru had slain in Marathon, while not the unbeatable monster this one was, had not been ordinary either. It was easy to recognize one of his father's subjects. And he knew king Ushijima had owned it, had used its beauty to come into power over his brothers. 

Somewhere along the line, he must have betrayed Poseidon. 

He looked back at Wakatoshi. 

But why, why did the punishment have to fall on him? 

"How long?" He asked, voice shaking. "How long do we have left."

"Mere days. I estimated 5 yesterday. But then you…" He looked down at his own bound chest, "It'll take energy for me to heal. Maybe I have 3 days left, maybe 2." 

2 days. 

2 days, until he was starving so desperately the black bull would take over his body and devour Tooru. 

He didn't have any other questions worth asking after that. 

Where the prior day had passed slowly as a snail sliding through sand, now that he knew how little time he had left, it was slipping through his fingers faster than ever. 

Nighttime came, and Tooru was no wiser than he had been in the morning. 

He did not pray. With a sinking feeling, he'd realized that no god would help him with this. Not in a way he wanted to be helped. 

He crawled into the bed for a third time, sword forgotten on the floor, but sleep did not come. 

Wakatoshi prepared himself for sleep, too, And Tooru watched him from under the roughly woven blanket.

Dark circles under his eyes, lines of exhaustion set in his face. He moved languidly, like every movement cost him too much. The hunger was eating at him, had been doing so for nearly a month. He was holding on for Tooru's sake alone. A man at war with his own nature 

And under all of that, he was still beautiful. Tooru had seen beauty. He had witnessed kings and queens dawned in purple and gold, every step full of grace and elegance. He'd met nymphs so enticing men drowned trying to get to them. He'd seen gods and demigods whose beauty surpassed human nature, the ideal of perfection itself.

And they were all overshadowed by the sight of him, in the light of the eternal-burning fire, staving off a monster through nothing but will. Eyes closed, head tipped back. Chest rising and falling with each breath, skin slick with sweat. 

His mouth was dry, and his heart was hammering against his ribcage. 

He learned then and there, just how formidable and archer Eros was. Why even Apollo had had to admit defeat to him. His arrows had found him, even when the rays of the sun could not. 

Oh, the overwhelming power of love. Downfall of too many great men, but irresistible even when confronted with the sight of just how deep you would fall. 

Why Aphrodite had forsaken him, son of her own nephew, he didn't know. But she had never shown less cruelty to her own family than she did to anyone else. 

So he lifted the covers and offered Wakatoshi his hand. 

"Come here," 

Dark eyes met his, filled with surprise and confusion

For all that Wakatoshi's face was frozen in that single stern, and now tired, position, his eyes were so easy to read. 

"What?" He asked

"Come here. Sleep with me." He crawled backward on the bed, pressing his shoulders to the stone behind him. "There is enough room for the both of us. Let's share." 

Takatoshi hesitated, halfway into getting up.

Tooru clicked his tongue in annoyance "You need sleep, and the floor is no good. Come." 

That was enough to persuade him, and stiffly he walked over to his own bed and laid down. 

"No, come on, closer." He curled a hand around Wakaotshi's waist. "Don't be afraid to touch me. Please." 

Slowly, ever so careful 

How could a blood-thirsty beast be so gentle? How cruel could one be to force a being like this, kind and earnest and so beautiful, to be a killer against his will? 

He had come to slay a monster. But this was no monster. He was just a man, a punishment for a crime he did not commit. 

It was the first time in a week that he slept soundly. 

When he opened his eyes hours later, Wakatoshi was already looking back at him. Eyes soft and shining in the light of the fire. 

"Tell me something," he whispered. "About the world outside, about your life." 

Tooru had many stories told about him. Of the six bandits and monsters, he slew on his way to Athens, of how he saved his father from the temptress Medea, of how he saved Marathon from the wild bull ravishing their land. 

But he didn't want to tell stories of bloodshed now. 

So he told him about the sun. And yes, of course Wakatoshi had heard of the sun, had vague memories of what it felt like to be lit by something other than woodfire. 

But did he remember what the sun was truly like? What it felt like to look at the heavenly chariot as Helios rode it through the sky? That it could be a white so bright that it blinded you when you looked directly at it, or it could be yellow like poppies ("do you know what those are?") it can be the color of a new-born flame. How it turned the sky from black to blue in the morning and if there were clouds as it set into the sea, it would color them pink and purple and orange, a myriad of colors like you'd never seen before. 

"And have you ever seen the sea?" He asked."Water further than the eye can see, impossible to miss. You live on an island, after all." 

"I have seen water before," Wakatoshi answered dryly. "You know about the stream. And I still need to drink to survive… "

"No, no! That's not what I meant." Tooru grinned. 

The ocean was massive, he explained. Water so deep that you couldn't see the bottom, and if you tried to swim there you'd drown. It was so large that ships as big as houses, with dozens of men aboard, could disappear and never be found. 

"It doesn't sound very pleasant."

"That's because I'm not done yet."

The sea could be a thousand different colors. It could be the color of wine and grapes, it could be as dark as the night sky, or it could be light blue, pure and innocent, or as green as the grass growing in the dunes. 

Its waves would travel for miles and miles to finally crash on their shores. They could be as low as knee-length, or taller than the mast of a ship. If you sailed long enough in the wrong direction you'd fall off the edge of the earth. 

"What is there?"

"No one knows! Only the gods do." 

The water was warm, welcoming. As the child of its ruler, it wouldn't kill him. The creatures that lived down there were magnificent. More than simple fish, the inhabitants of the sea had an aura of beauty and strangeness unlike anything on land. 

The depth of the ocean was his country as much as Athens was. 

He told Wakatoshi of the Olive trees, famed in his home city. Gifted to them by their founder goddess. They crowned their athletes and kings with the leaves, and the fruit provided them with food and, when refined, with a fine oil known throughout the entire continent. The women would work all day to process the fruit into oil, and young children would wander the farmlands and climb the trees, playing made-up games pretending to be heroes and demigods. 

"They are the colour of your eyes," He said, trailing a hand across the line of Wakatoshi's cheek. "So beautiful…" 

Wakatoshi's breath hitched, and his hand came up to cover Tooru's. Careful, gentle as he always was. 

Something fluttered inside Tooru's chest. A want, a desire. 

And then, the decision was easier and clearer than any other he'd made in his life. 

"Come with me," he said. "I have a boat, waiting out there on the shore of the island." He said quickly. "I'm getting out of this place and I'm taking you with me."

"I already told you, I don't want to leave."

"And then I'll find a way to free you from that form." Tooru finished resolutely.

He was shocked silent, looking at Tooru in disbelief.

"You can't." 

"I can. I'm not just the heir of Athens. I am also the son of the king of the oceans. Both Mamuro and Poseidon accept me as their son. He was the one your father slighted. I will ask him to undo it."

He didn't look convinced. "And you truly think he'll listen?" 

No. He didn't know. "Even if he doesn't, I won't rest until I lift this curse from you, you hear me?" 

He grabbed Wakatoshi's face and leaned in closer. 

"I am not leaving here without you. I told you before that I won't walk out like some spineless coward. I stay. And you'll have to kill me." 

Wakatoshi flinched back, and his face contorted in terror. "No. No, please don't make me do that. I can't." He begged.

"Come with me, then. We can both live." 

  
The silence stretched out. 

There was no other option. He didn't want to die, he couldn't kill him. He couldn't leave on his own. 

"Alright."

His eyes flew open, a joyful smile on his lips. Wakatoshi was looking back at him. So, so close. H nearly kissed him then and there, but centimeters from his face he recollected himself.

"You..." He cleared his throat. "Let's prepare. Grab anything you want with you. We're not coming back here."

It only took minutes to prepare. Tooru only had his sword and all Wakaotshi wanted to bring with him were a handful of small objects, what looked to be jewelry, or drawings, or toys. 

Tooru didn't about them. He suspected they were never Wakatoshi's to begin with, and the memories of those they belonged to had to be painful. 

They walked the first part in tandem, Tooru slowly rolling up the yarn as he walked, Wakatoshi with his fingertips grazing the wall, remembering the way to his home for the last time.

Half an hour in, Wakatoshi's hands left the wall.

"This Is it." He said. "This Is as far as I know the way. Everything outside here is a mystery to me." 

So they followed the red yarn together. And even with the way out in their hands, it took them hours. 

Wakatoshi tried not to show it, but he was exhausted. He leaned on Tooru most of the way, stumbling his way through his own prison. 

So when the thread pulled taught and they came to the end of the labyrinth, Tooru didn't wait a second before drawing his weapon and using it to pry open the door.

There was the smallest breakthrough, just enough to get a grip around the edges of the stone and pull the door open more and more. 

Fresh air. The colds of the night wind in his face. 

He nearly fell to his knees, and quietly he sent a prayer to the gods above for letting him back into their world. 

There were no guards. Princess Sakiyo had kept her word and made sure that in the days past his entrance he could walk out undisturbed. 

"Come with me, we need to leave now. There's a boat waiting for us west of the haven." 

But Wakatoshi wasn't listening. He stood frozen still, looking at the night sky. 

Tooru followed his line of sight. "Oh," he realized. "No one ever told you about stars, did they?" 

Above them, a sea of light lay sprawled out across the sky. A thousand and one stars, speckled across the sky, a full moon bright and proud 

"It's… amazing." He said in awe. 

"Hmmm. It is." Tooru wasn't looking at the sky anymore. 

Illuminated in the cold light moon, Wakatoshi appeared almost godlike. Ethereal.

The desire that had been growing inside of him for days finally culminated, he tenderly cupped Wakatoshi's face and pulled him down, until his eyes ripped away for the sky and towards Tooru. 

He had to stand on the tips of his toes to reach his face, and even then Wakatoshi still had to bend his head down to meet him. 

Their lips met, brief and chaste, and… not very good. Tooru had kissed his fair share of people, with ranging levels of success, but it was clear that Wakatoshi had no idea what to do. He stood still, frozen against Tooru's lips.

He pulled away, looking up at Wakatoshi 

He blinked back at him, blank. Though his face was flushed, and not from the cold. 

"What was that for?" He asked. 

And somehow, that, of all the bizarre realizations of the last days, was what pushed Tooru over the edge. 

He laughed, bright and joyous, standing under the moonlight with this boy who didn't know of stars or kissing. 

"It means I love you." He whispered. He stepped back, took his hand, and turned around to the boat. 

"Now come on, we're leaving this wretched island. For good." 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pretty sure that if any ancient Athenians saw this work they would immediately faint and, after they woke up, try to kill me. Not because it's gay, but because I made their darling boy Theseus fail to kill the minotaur. Twice. In my defense, it IS haikyuu canon appropriate and also I don't give a shit about myth Theseus he's a prick and a rapist and any changes I made to his character were an improvement. 
> 
> Also I kinda HAD to find a reason for Tooru to not immediately kill Wakatoshi, and a reason that he was… you know... alive at all, and not executed as soon as he went ballistic and started eating people. In the original myth they CAN kill him but for some reason go to the oracle of Delphi first who tells them they should just… lock him up and feed him people once in a while. And I gotta be honest that feels like a deus ex machina. I swear, someone in ancient Greece was telling this story and some guy asked "Hey. why didn't Minos just kill this monster baby" and the other guy was like "uhhh, the oracle told him not to." It's a giant plot hole and my explanation makes more sense.


End file.
